From DE 10 2009 035 225 A1 a clutch device is known, having a counter-pressure plate, a contact plate that is movable relative to the counter-pressure plate to a limited extent in an axial direction of the clutch device to frictionally clamp a clutch plate between the counter-pressure plate and the contact plate, and a wear adjustment device to compensate for wearing of the clutch plate. The wear adjustment device contains a rotatable adjusting ring, and a rotatably supported spindle drive with a drive pinion having a tooth structure, which acts on the adjusting ring. In the event of wear, a drive pawl which can be brought into engagement with the tooth structure of the drive pinion turns the spindle drive, whereby the adjusting ring, which is operationally connected to the spindle drive, is turned in order to compensate for the wear of the clutch plate.
Since, in the event of wear, the turning of the drive pinion is dependent on the detected wear distance, i.e., dependent on the additional distance by which the contact plate must move nearer to the counter-pressure plate in order to clamp the now thinner clutch plate frictionally between the contact plate and the counter-pressure plate, the previously explained wear adjustment device is also referred to as a travel-based wear adjustment device.